Mortgage loans for self-employed?

I'm self-employed and make pretty good money and my three credit scores are all above 700 (average 760). I currently pay $1,500 rent per month, so obviously, I can afford a mortgage payment (including property taxes and insurance) that's equal to my monthly rent payment. But I was shocked when I applied for a mortgage loan and was told the amount that I qualify for -- it's WAY less than what I thought I'd qualify for and the amount I actually qualify for can't buy anything decent in my area of the country (southern California). It turns out that my only problem is that I'm self-employed and work at home, so I take a lot of tax deductions for business expenses and even household expenses (phone, utilities, car and rent), and when all is said and done, lenders think that I don't make enough money to qualify for a mortgage loan. It seems really unfair that they look at net income for self-employed people, but they look at gross income for everyone else who has the same (or even more) monthly expenses than I do.

So what am I to do now? Are there any options for me? Getting a co-borrower is out of the question, since I'm single and nobody in my family is financially able to help. Are there any mortgage lenders that understand self-employment income? If anyone knows of any lenders that have loan programs for self-employed people, PLEASE let me know.